VIDEO: GlobalFoundries, CEG partner to prepare students for high-tech careers

By Jennie Grey

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

MALTA -- GlobalFoundries has teamed up with the Center for Economic Growth (CEG) to help regional students prepare for careers in Tech Valley, where technology opportunities abound. The chip maker and the nonprofit have created the Tech Valley Connection for Education and Jobs, a workforce development initiative defining a path for the education system.

On Tuesday, Hudson Valley Community College's Training and Education Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing and Alternative and Renewable Technologies campus hosted an event to showcase student work and introduce the initiative. F. Michael Tucker, CEG's president and CEO, described the connection via video, a presentation, and a host of speakers.

"We want to integrate technology consistently throughout the Saratoga Springs School District," said Dr. Joseph Greco, the district's director of math, science, and technology integration. "We also want to emphasize there are many pathways to education, which will be a major paradigm shift for some parents. Not every child needs to attend college. Some students may want to go right into the workforce, and our programs will help ready them."

Mike Russo, GlobalFoundries' director of government relations, described the initiative's formation. Businesses, government, labor, and education entities have been part of the Tech Valley Connection. Twenty chambers of commerce, 111 school districts, and 345 schools are involved. Building on its 2009 Administration Outreach program, GlobalFoundries not only looked for ways to develop science, technology, engineering, and math in K-12 curricula; but also planned to consider a student's total capabilities and abilities. "Soft skills," such as communication and interaction, are also key for today's jobs, Russo explained.

At the student exhibition, children from Saratoga to Albany interacted over their work. Albany High School students Jordan Garcez, Justyn Werrs, and Ben Knoll showed last year's club robot. While Werrs likes the animation aspect of the design process, his fellow students enjoy the actual building.

Such innovative programs already exist in both the North Colonie and Saratoga Springs school districts. Shaker High School's pre-engineering program was developed with the district's business advisory council. At Saratoga Springs High School, "Flipped Instruction" allows biochemistry students to watch lectures on their home computers, providing them with ample time to complete labs and experiments during class.

Both GlobalFoundries and CEG have surveyed members of each stakeholder group, especially the schools, to determine what their next steps should be.

Joseph Poirier, a fourth-grade student ambassador from Milton Terrace South Elementary School, demonstrated his next step: a circuit board with brightly colored transistors.